| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the universal prepositional phrase be-khol ha-aretz {בְּכָל־הָאָרֶץ | bə-khāl hā-ʾā-reṣ} ‘throughout the earth,’ establishing cosmic scope. The term pe-tsam {פְּצָם | pə-ṣām} ‘measuring line’ forms a parallel with mi-lê-hēm {מִלֵּיהֶם | mi-lê-hēm} ‘their words’ in a chiastic structure. The coordinated expression ū-vĭ-qṣê tevel mi-lê-hēm {וּבִקְצֵה תֵבֵל מִלֵּיהֶם | ū-vĭ-qṣê tē-ḇêl mi-lê-hēm} ‘and to the ends of the world their words’ extends the universal proclamation. The verb śām {שָׂם | śām} introduces spatial metaphor in la-šemeš śām ʾō-hel bā-hēm {לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ שָׂם אֹהֶל בָּהֶם | la-šemeš śām ʾō-hel bā-hēm} ‘for the sun He has set a tent in them,’ depicting ordered placement within the cosmos. Hebrew parallelism reinforces both the universal reach of the proclamation and the sun’s divinely ordained position. |